A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter. Sorry it's taken me a few days to update, but hopefully this longer chapter will make up for it. I'd love to know what you think, so leave a review if you've got time!

Up Goes the Beanstalk

"Henry?" Emma called, dropping her keys on her desk.

"Yeah, Mom?" Henry answered, popping up suddenly right in front of her and giving her a fright.

Rolling her eyes, she flipped open the box she had returned from Granny's with. "Donut or bear claw?"

Henry thought for a moment before grinning and grabbing one of each. "Thanks, Mom!"

Emma smirked and set the box down beside her keys before sitting down. She'd just taken a bite of her own bear claw when the ground began to shake, her desk and everything else in the room rattling and actually beginning to move from the vibrations. Dropping the bear claw back into the box, Emma stood and took Henry's arm, holding on to him lest something should happen.

By the time the vibrations had stopped, they'd backed three feet towards the door of the Sheriff Station.

"Phew," Henry sighed, turning to smile at Emma. She gave him her best approximation of a smile in return, worrying because the last time Storybrooke had suffered an earthquake it hadn't brought anything good.

A moment of silence followed before all six phones in the station flared to life, ringing off the hook. Emma approached the closest one and was about to pick it up, when her phone started buzzing in her pocket. Instead, she dug that out and answered.

"Hello?"

"Emma, thank God!" Snow said before demanding, "Where are you? Are you okay? Is Henry with you?!"

"Yes, M-, calm down. Henry's right here because we were going to go on that hike today, remember? We're at the station." Emma grimaced, knowing that they were probably going to have to put that trip off now. She had organised the hike to lift Henry's spirits after his bout of illness, hoping that some exercise and a day out would cheer him up.

"Of course. James, they're still at the station," Snow replied.

Emma sighed at the thought that James was there too. Suddenly, the phone had been taken from Snow and James was speaking.

"Emma, you need to get to Main Street." Emma opened her mouth to reply, but didn't get a chance before her father added, "Now," to the end of his sentence, as if he hadn't properly conveyed the urgency of the situation already.

"I'll be there in five," Emma sighed.

Ending the call, she turned to find Henry had already pulled on his coat and was waiting for her. As they walked to her yellow Volkswagen Beetle, Emma zipped up her blue leather jacket, wondering what had happened. It had been a week since she'd broken the curse and things had been relatively normal. After storming the Mayor's house only to find the Evil Queen missing, the townspeople had gone back to their Storybrooke lives – Snow returning to teaching, Grumpy keeping his post at the hospital, everyone. She'd yet to locate Baelfire, the local Pawn Shop owner's missing son, but she was having some success with other cases, having reunited the Mad Hatter with his daughter, Grace.

Sat inside the car, Emma and Henry could see the devastation the earthquake had left behind. The road was littered with long cracks, which Emma had to gingerly drive over. In fact, the closer she got to Granny's Diner, the bigger the cracks seemed to be, she noticed. Finally, she decided it was no longer safe to drive over them and pulled over, walking the rest of the distance to the Diner, holding onto Henry's hand to make sure he wasn't put in danger.

"Emma!" someone called as she approached, Red pushing her way through the crowd that had formed outside the town's most popular restaurant. Snow and Charming weren't far behind.

"What's going on?" she asked, trying to ignore the whispers of the rest of the townspeople as they too noticed that the Sheriff had arrived.

Red shook her head. "You have to see it yourself."

Emma gulped at the look on the young waitress' face. It was obvious that she was worried, but more than anything it looked like something had scared her. James too, who Emma had thought was incapable of feeling fear, looked shaken up. Henry looked up at her expectantly. Snow squeezed her shoulder. James nodded at her, all of them waiting for her to start walking.

"For a Saviour, she's not very brave," someone in the crowd jeered.

James' jaw locked and he made to turn, only to find Snow's arm stopping him and her face giving him a warning.

Having the motivation she needed, Emma let go of Henry's hand and moved past her parents. The crowd parted for her, whispers following her. Finally, she reached the front of the crowd and looked around, unsure what had managed to upset the townspeople so badly. All she could see was more fissures in the pavements and road.

"Well, what is it?" Henry asked from behind her.

"Henry, you weren't meant to come with me," Emma groaned.

"But I want to know what's going on too."

Emma didn't answer, having just noticed that the cracks in the road disappeared around the corner. She gave Henry an uncertain look before following them, stopping dead the minute she caught sight of it.

"The Beanstalk," Henry breathed beside her in awe.

The thing was massive, reaching high into the sky and disappearing in the clouds.

Twenty minutes later, practically the whole town was gathered in the town hall.

"Obviously something must be done about the Beanstalk-" James began saying, easily slotting back into his leadership role from his days as King.

"Just chop it down!" Grumpy shouted.

"That's a great idea," Emma muttered sarcastically, not enjoying standing at the front of the hall with her family and having everyone's eyes on her. "Do you know anyone with an axe the size of a house?"

Someone laughed. Snow looked at Emma disapprovingly. She ought to be setting an example, not making jokes out of the situation. As the Saviour, everyone looked to her for help and advice not sarcastic comments.

"Does anyone have any other suggestions for courses of action?" James asked hopefully.

A chorus of shouts filled the town hall, only to fall to silence when the doors blew open, revealing Rumplestiltskin.

"It seems to me," he said, walking down the centre of the large room, his cane tapping with every step. "That someone needs to go up the Beanstalk and explore the land up there."

"We don't need your advice," James responded forcefully.

"No, he's right," a young woman said, following Rumplestiltskin to the front of the hall. Snow and James frowned for a moment before recognising Belle. "There could be people up there. People who were trapped in the curse just like us."

"We're meant to be living in a democratic town, why don't we vote on it?" Rumplestiltskin suggested, his voice taking the familiar lilt of confidence it held in the Enchanted Forest.

"Fine," James agreed. "All in favour of sending someone up the Beanstalk?"

Almost everyone in the town hall raised a hand. Snow looked around in surprise. Since when did people listen to Rumplestiltskin – he was hated by all, wasn't he?

"Excellent," Rumplestiltskin said, smiling at the unanimous result. "I believe the next matter on the agenda is who shall we send?"

"It was your idea, why don't you go?" Grumpy asked, looking at the older man with hatred in his eyes.

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. "I think not."

James grunted. "Why not? You're the one who wants to know what's up there so desperately."

"I'm Hobblefoot, remember? I could hardly climb the beanstalk."

James scoffed. If he wanted to Rumplestiltskin could easily rid himself of his limp. He obviously wanted someone else to go up the beanstalk for a reason.

"If Rumplestiltskin will not go, someone must volunteer," Snow said, stepping forward to stand beside James.

"I will go," James replied, nodding at his wife.

But his offer was met with disagreement. "But who will lead us?"

"My wife is more than capable of taking over my leadership duties should something happen to me," James assured everyone.

"No, they're right, James. We need you to lead us," Snow told him. She knew she would have been able to lead the people were they in the Enchanted Forest still, but she had yet to gather as much confidence as James had in Storybrooke.

He looked at Snow intently for a moment, seeing the worry hidden in his eyes, the desperation she felt in the thin line that was her mouth before nodding slightly and taking her hand. He gave it a squeeze and turned back to their people.

"Any volunteers?"

Someone near the back of the hall, someone who had ducked down so they couldn't be seen, shouted, "Why doesn't the Saviour go?"

"No! Emma isn't going!" James immediately asserted. After having only just reunited with his daughter, he wasn't going to send her into danger. "Someone else, someone more experienced with this kind of thing is going."

Emma knew she was going to regret it before she did it. But she also knew that nobody else was going to volunteer. Besides, she was the Sheriff, it was down to her to do these kinds of things.

"I'll go," she said but no-one heard her over her father's ranting and raving. "I'll go!"

"No-" James tried.

"-No, Dav-James, no-one else is going to go-"

"-That doesn't mean you have to!"

"No, it doesn't, but I'm going to go anyway," she replied.

"Emma," Snow whispered, wanting nothing more than to persuade her daughter to stay but knowing it was a useless venture.

"Give me an hour," Emma said, before leaving, brushing past a strangely happy Rumplestiltskin and Belle. Henry ran after her, shooting the deal-maker a scared glance as he passed.

An hour later, Emma was ready.

"Good luck, Emma," Ella and Thomas called as she passed them on her way to the beanstalk.

Grumpy nodded to her, the rest of the dwarves gathered behind him to wish her well.

"I love you, Mom," Henry said to her.

Emma paused to bring her son into a hug, realising it could be their last, and told him she loved him too.

"Be safe, Emma," her mother said, joining them and rubbing her arm.

Before she could protest, Snow and James pulled her into a hug.

"In case I don't come back," Emma whispered into her father's ear, pressing the Deputy's badge into his hand.

With her goodbyes finished, Emma approached the beanstalk growing out of the middle of the road. Rumplestiltskin stood just in front of it with a satisfied grin.

"Alright, Gold, you got what you wanted; now tell me why I'm going up there."

"I told you I would call in that favour you owe me. I believe my son is up there and you're going to retrieve him for me," Rumplestiltskin told her.

"Fine," Emma muttered. "I'll bring your son back but you might wanna ask yourself whether he wants to be back with you."

Emma gave the beanstalk a once over before gripping one of its branches and placing her foot on another. She climbed up it like you would climb a tree, finding hand and footholds. But it was so tall, it was almost an hour before she was out of sight of the townspeople below. Snow, James and Henry were planning to stay in the street until she returned, a tent and camping equipment stowed in James' truck just around the corner.

Emma's arms ached from reaching up for the next branch. Her legs were sore from pushing herself up the beanstalk. And she still hadn't reached the top. She was so bored, she was talking to herself.

"Stupid, Emma, stupid. Why did you even agree to do this?"

After almost two hours of climbing, she finally reached the top of the beanstalk.

"Hello? Anybody here?" she called, looking around. She couldn't see any people, but she was stood in the middle of a town, a castle looming ahead of her in the distance. Nobody had answered her call, so she ducked into the closest house, looking for people. The inside of the house was coated in a layer of dust, cobwebs littering the corners of every room, and had an empty feeling to it.

Instinctively knowing that the rest of the houses would be the same, Emma left and began making her way down the cobbled street towards the castle. As she got closer to the building, she realised it was actually much bigger than she had first thought.

"Of course it's massive. It houses a giant, remember?" Emma mumbled to herself. "Oh stop talking to yourself. Just hurry up and find Baelfire so you can get back to Henry."

Shutting up, Emma slipped inside the castle doors, thinking it lucky that whoever was inside had left them slightly ajar. Had they been closed, she'd have been stuffed. There would have been no way she could have reached the handle – it was nine feet off the ground.

Her gasp was lost in the size of the place she had walked into. Gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling, glittering in the light that streamed through the windows, windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. The tiled floor gleamed almost unnaturally. Even Mary Margaret hadn't been able to keep her floor that clean. Her booted feet made echoes with every step.

Her mind was blown. She'd never seen anything so extravagant. She forgot all about the giant, about being quiet and careful. She forgot why she was there and went exploring.

She found the kitchen, the table over two feet taller than her as she walked beneath it, staring up at the underside of it.

She did, however, remember her purpose in visiting the castle, when the floor began to shake.

"Crap," Emma hissed, knowing it meant the giant was coming. "Crap, crap, crap!" She had nowhere to hide. In the giant room, she was like one of the Borrowers, too small to climb the table. Too small to do anything.

The table and chair shook as the Giant through himself into it, digging into whatever food lay on the table, though how it had gotten there, Emma didn't know. Magic, she supposed, must be the secret.

She was still stood under the table, hiding behind a table-leg, when the giant fell asleep in his chair. Great snores roaring out of his nose and almost bursting her ear drums.

"You must be new here," someone said, surprising her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, whirling to face him.

"Doesn't matter," he replied, jumping down from the kitchen surface he was stood on. Emma thought he was going to break his legs, but he simply leapt onto a stood then shimmied down one of the legs.

"You're not Jack, are you?"

"Nope," he snorted. "That idiot is long gone. Though everybody does seem to think I'm Jack."

"Then who are you?"

"I told you," he replied, stepping onto the ground and shaking his lengthy brown hair out of his eyes, "it doesn't matter. The real question is where have you come from? No-one's been here in over thirty years, except for me, of course."

"I came up the beanstalk…" Emma told him, disconcerted by his admission that they were in fact alone with the giant.

"The beanstalk? The beanstalk?!"

"Why? How did you get here?"

"Same. Pretty much. Although I suppose some of the credit should go to Reul Ghorm," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Who's that?"

"You're telling me you haven't heard of the most powerful being in all the land? Where are you from? And if you don't mind me asking, why are you dressed like that? You look ridiculous."

"I look ridiculous? Says the man wearing a dress."

"It's a tunic, actually."

"Whatever," Emma replied. "I'm looking for someone, so either help me or leave me alone."

"I know who you're looking for. You won't find him here, though. You should just go back down the beanstalk. You're not safe here."

"Well, you should come too. It's not safe for you either," Emma pointed out.

"I can cope. I've survived this long, haven't I?"

"Look, Storybrooke is safer and it's filled with good people. Trust me, I'm the Sheriff."

"Storybrooke? That's where you're from?" he asked, never having heard of the place. "Why don't I just escort you back to the beanstalk and then you can stop pestering me."

Emma allowed the man whose name she still didn't know to lead the way out of the kitchen and back to the castle doors, before looking back. Could she really go back to Storybrooke, knowing she hadn't done what she was asked. She hadn't properly explored. For all she knew, there could be more people in the castle.

"Come on. I haven't got all day."

"Yes, I'm sure you have thousands of things to do in this deserted place," Emma quipped.

"Well getting eaten by the giant must be at the top of your to-do list and if you're not careful you'll be digested before you can check it off."

Giving him a fake smile, Emma pushed past him and left the castle. Even if she hadn't seen the entirety of the castle, she'd at least be able to report to the townspeople some of what was up the beanstalk.

"So what happened here?" Emma asked her companion as they walked back towards where the beanstalk protruded slightly from the ground.

He shrugged. "Giant ate everyone, I guess." They walked in silence until they reached the stump of the beanstalk. "So, goodbye."

"Oh, just climb down with me," Emma told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the hole beside the stump. "Put your left hand here, move your leg, that's it." Together they climbed down the beanstalk. The instant Emma's feet touched the ground, she was enveloped in a hug from Henry, James and Snow already hugging each other with happiness because they knew Emma was safe.

Rumplestiltskin ran, limping still, to the stranger's side. "Bae! Is that you?"

"Father?"

"So you are Baelfire!" Emma exclaimed.

He nodded reluctantly before being dragged into a hug from his father.

"Now what do we do about that?" Thomas asked, joining the group by the beanstalk, and nodding towards the base of the beanstalk.

James shrugged. "Maybe we can chop it down. I'm sure there must be something that would do it."

"Yeah, good plan. You don't want the giant coming down here, trust me," Emma told them all.

They all looked at her.

"Giant?" Snow asked, horror creeping into her voice.

"Giant," Emma confirmed.

A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:

Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse

Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later

August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later

The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later

Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later

Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late

Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later

Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later

Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later

Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later

Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later

Many thanks for reading and much love, SabreDae

xxxxxxx